Automatic record changer



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27, 1946 INVENTOR ARLINGTON v. LAPISH ATTORNEY Nov. 27, 1951 A. v. LAPISH 2,576,125

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER I Filed April 27, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 In u I 2 ---n I N I O 8 w y B E g w E 2 2 a "P h m w 5 .2 m E m n 0 a2 2 D 9 a i a E" o f: 0

. V 5 3 (\1 3 g 2 g g u 3 Q i t: 2 3 II M4;

w :2 INVENTOR 0 n5 ARLINGTON VLAPISH! o u 2 a THY ATTORNEY Nov. 27, 1951 A. v. LAPISH 2,576,125

"AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER Filed April 27, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ARLINGTON V. LAPISH ATTORNEY Nov. 27, 1951 A. v. LAPISH AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER Filed April 27, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ARLINGTON VLAPlSiH ATTORNEY Nov. 27, 1951 A. v. LAPISH 7 2,576,125

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER Filed April 27, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ARLINGTON V LAPISH ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 27, 1951 AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER Arlington Victor Lapish, Fort Wayne, Ind., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Farnsworth Research Corporation, a corporation of Indiana Application April 27, 1946, Serial No. 665,475

3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to automatic phonographs and more particularly it relates to automatic phonographs of the drop type which are adapted to handle records of diiierent diameters in intermixed relation.

Conventional automatic phonographs of the drop type are provided with three different types of record supporting mechanisms. For example, it is conventional to utilize two diametrically opposite record supports for supporting a stack of records above the turntable. These record supports may consist of rotatable knives or fixed shelves having sliding members for removing records therefrom. Another type of record support consists of a shelf at one side of the turntable which is adapted to cooperate with a spindle having a notched portion for supporting a stack of records above the turntable. Records may be removed from this type of support by means of a mechanism adapted to slide the lowermost record from the supports to the turntable. As is well-known to those skilled in the art, it is not possible to use records of different diameters in intermixed relation with record changers having record supports such as those described in the foregoing, the reason being that it is very difficult to release records to the turntable unless all of the records in the stack are of the same diameter.

A third type of record supporting mechanism comprises a spindle which is centered with respect to the turntable and which is provided with a record supporting and releasing mechanism Which is more or less self-contained within the spindle. For example, it is conventional to pro vide a rotatable record-releasing member which is eccentrically disposed with respect to the remainder of the spindle. By rotating the-eccentric member into alignment with the spindle, one record at a time may be released to the turntable. This type of record supporting and releasing mechanism has the disadvantage that it enlarges the centering aperture of the record and this, of course, makes it difiicult to insure that the record is centered with reasonable accuracy on the turntable. When records are not centered on the turntable, an audible distortion is produced when the record is played. It is also characteristic of this type of record supporting and releasing mechanism that the stack of records must be supported on a very small area of the lowermost record adjacent its centering aperture. Because of the fact that the complete stack of records may drop onto this limited area of the lowermost record during a record 2 changing cycle, it frequently happens that the record is broken or otherwise mutilated.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of. this invention to provide a novel automatic phonograph Which is adapted to play automatically records of intermixed diameters, one after the other in succession.

Another object of this invention is to provide in an automatic phonograph a novel change cycle control mechanism which is particularly adapted to operate a record supporting and ,releasing mechanism which is a composite part of a record centering spindle.

In accordance with this invention, there. is provided an automatic phonograph comprising a turntable and a record centering spindle. including an enlargeable portion spaced above the turntable for engaging and supporting rec-, ords. For operating the record engaging portion of the spindle, there is provided a pair of members which are operatiyely associated with a unitary change cycle cam means which is adapted to so control the spindle that records may be dropped to the turntable one after the other. There is also provided a drive means and, a tripping means for engaging the unitary cam with the drive means in order to initiate a record changing cycle.

In accordance with a further feature of this invention, there is provided a change cycle'control apparatus for controlling the tone arm and record supporting means comprising a control mechanism, a drive means, a pawl adapted to connect the control mechanism with the drive means and a tripping mechanism responsive to the movement of the tone arm for actuating the pawl and initiating a record changing cycle;

In accordance with still another feature of this invention, there is provided apparatus for con-' trolling the tone arm of an automatic phonograph in such a manner that it may engage with the initial playing groove of either a small record or a large record. This apparatus includes a tone arm control lever for normally moving the tone arm into alignment with the initial playing groove of a large record. In operative association with the tone arm control lever, there is provided a member which is movable automatically for moving the tone arm into engagement with the initial playing groove of a small record. An index finger is operatively associated with the second control member for moving it to an ineffective position when a large record is dropped to the turntable.

A still further feature of this invention prof vides apparatus whereby the automatic phonograph may be operated either manually or automatically. For supporting a stack of records there is provided a record centering spindle comprising a record supporting portion spaced above the turntable and a movable record releasing portion adjacent the record supporting portion. For effecting a record changing cycle, there is provided a cam means and a linkage connecting the cam means with the record supporting portion for separating the lowermost record during a record changing cycle and supporting the remainder of the stack of records during a record changing cycle. For moving the record releasing portion of the spindle there is provided a second linkage and a means for connecting it with the cam means. A manually operable mechanism disconnects the connecting means from the cam means for permitting manual operation. of the phonograph.

For a better understanding of the invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is made to thefollowing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

. .In the accompanying drawings: a

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a record-changing apparatus with the unplayed records removed from the record-supporting means:

gianlging apparatus as viewed on line Z2 of Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the apparatus as viewed on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan View of the apparatus; I Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2, showing the change-cycle control mechanism:

Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view taken on line 6-,6 of Fig. 2.showing the record-supporting and releasing mechanisms;

Fig. 6A illustrates a portion of the operating cycle of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6;

. Fig. '7 is a detailed sectional view taken on line 1 of Fig. 3, showing the locking mechanism associated with the record-supporting means;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the underside of the master cam gear which contro s the operation of the record-changing mechanism; and V Fig. 9 is a. sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 5.

Referring generally to the drawings, there is shown a record-changing apparatus consisting of a base plate 2 for su porting a turntable 3 upon which is positioned for re roduction, the record 4.. The turntable 3 is rotated continuously by means of a suitable motor 5 (Fig. 2) secured to the base plate by screws 6. The motor is proyided with a drive pulley 1 in frictional engagement with a wheel 8 which in turn is in frictional engagement with the inner periphery of the rim on the turntable 3. The turntable 3 is rotatably mounted at its center upon a tubular shaft Ill (Fig. 6), journaled in the bearing H, depending from the base plate 2. The ballbearing I 3 provides a rotatable support for the turntable.

Adjacent the turntable there is provided a tone arm I! pivotally mounted for horizontal and vertical movement on the standard 16 (Fig. 2) secured to the base plate 2. Tone arm I! has a reproducer l8 adapted to track the record}. Re-

Xerring in detail to Fig. 3, the tone arm. i

" Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of a record-.

4 pivotally supported as at l5 to an ofiset bracket H! which is fixed to the upper end of a vertical sleeve 20. The sleeve 26 is rotatably mount ed in the bearing 2! which is affixed to the standard l6 by means of a set screw 22.

Extending through the sleeve 29 is a tone armlift pin 23, the lower end thereof being arranged to be moved by one end of a tone arm elevating and lowering lever 36 and an adjustable set screw 3I. The lever 36 is pivotally mounted as at 32 to a bracket 33 depending from the base plate 2. Hence, as the lever it is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3), the upper end of the lift pin 23 is moved into engagement with the tone arm ii to lift it away from the record 4. Conversely, if the lever 39 is pivoted in a clockwise direction, the tone arm is lowered.

' Secured to the lower end of the sleeve 20 (Fig. 4). is a bell crank lever 2d having apair of control arms 25 and 26. At the outer end of the arm 25, there is an upwardly. extending pin 21 adapted to be moved by a tone arm control mechanism for swinging the tone arm laterally, as hereinafter described. A fibre washer 29 in terposed in frictional engagement between the hub 28 of the bell crank lever 24 and the base plate 2 prevents the reproducer from over-swinge ing its proper position when being lowered into engagement with the recordli on the turntable.

Referring to Fig. 6, there is shown in detail, a record centering spindle 39 for supporting records above the turntable 3 together with means for releasing and lowering a record onto the turntable. The spindle 39 comprises an outer record supporting and releasing sleeve 40 hav ing its upper end extending above the turntable and its lower end journaled in the tubular shaft l0. At the extreme lower end of the sleeve 66, there is secured thereto a collar 75 which is adapted to prevent the sleeve 40 from rotating and to permit the vertical movement of the sleeve 4|]. v

The upper end of the sleeve 49 is tri-parted-,- as at 42, so that it may be expanded to form a flared record supporting and releasing sectiort slightly greater in diameter than the diameter of the record centering aperture of a record. Mounted within the sleeve) is a sleeve 43 having its lower end afiixed to the bearing 1! by means of a tubular threaded member 54 (Figs. 2 and '7) which extends through a split portion of bearing H whereby the split portion may be compressed into firm engagement with sleeve 4'3. At the upper end of the sleeve 43, there is formed. a shoulder 45 projecting above the upper end of the sleeve 40 the thickness of a record and having a diameter slight less than the centering aperture of a record. As the sleeve 49 is moved in an upward direction (Fig. 6) the triparted portion 42 thereof is caused to engage the shoulder 45 and expand to a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the centering apertures of the records 4 to form a seat so that the stack of records may rest thereon. Disposed between the collar 15 and the bearing i l is a spring;

.MA which normally urges the sleeve 4!! in a.

downward direction. When the sleeve 40 is re-- leased, the spring 14A moves it in a downward: direction, whereupon the tri-parted portion 42 assumes its normal diameter thereby permitting? records to fall onto the turntable (Fig. 6A) Extending through the sleeve 43 (Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 6.): is a control rod 46 having its lower end adiustably' secured as at 4.1. to. a lever 48 which is 5. pivotally mounted .to thenbearing l]: as at 49. Formed at the .upperlend of the control rod 4.6 and spaced the thickness of several records above the shoulder 45 is a head portionill. Disposed about the control rod (between the shoulder 14.5 and the portion 50, there is arranged anenlargeable resilient record supporting collar I| having "a normal diameter slightly less than the aperture of a record (Fig. 6). Collar 51 maykconsist of rubber, for example. In operation, as the .control rod. 46 is moved in (a downward direction by lever 48, the enlarged portion 50 thereof com" presses the collar 51 (Fig. GA) and causes it to expand and irictionally grip the inner aperture walls of all but the lowermost record in the stack of records supported by the sleeve 40. It is to be observed that as the collar 51 is expanded, the lowermost record in the stack freely rests .on the extremities of portion 42 so that the release of the lowermost record may be elfec-ted by the downward movement of the sleeve 40.

For controlling the movement of the sleeve 40 to support and release records, there is provided a control mechanism :60 (Figs. 2, 5 and 7) and a record-change cycle mechanism which will be hereinafter described. The controlmechanism '60 comprises a control knob 61 (Fig. 2) which is suitably secured to the upper end of a vertical sleeve 62 journaled in the standard it. The control knob 16! isadapted to be moved over a scale 59 (Fig. 1) having positions marked manual and automatic. Afflxed to the lower end of the sleeve 62,

is a bell crank lever 63 (Figs. 2 and 5) having a pair of arms 64 and B5. Pivotally secured by a pin 65 to the arm '65 is one end of a lever 61 having its opposite .end pivotally afilxed, as at 68, to one end of ,a lever 69. The opposite end of the lever $9 is secured by nuts 10 to one end of a pivot shaft 1| journaled in the tubular member 44. On the opposite end of the pivot shaft "'H there is formed a bearing surface 16 (Figs. 3 and 7) about which is pivoted a lever 12. The lever '12 has an outwardly turned ear 13 (Fig. 6) which is arranged, when the lever 12 is pivoted in clockwise direction oris lifted, to engage and actuate a vertical pin '14 'journal'ed in the bearing I I. The upper end of the pin 14 is arranged to engage and actuate the collar 15 secured to the lower end of the sleeve thereby to elevate or lower sleeve 40.

The bearing surface 16 is provided with a high and low cam surface 18 and 19 (Fig. 3) respectively. When the control knob 51 is rotated to the automatic position, the high cam surface 13 is moved in a counterclockwise direction to engage the flat horizontal wall of the aperture Tl thereby lifting the lever 12 and therewith the ear "13 as shown in Fig. .3. In efiect, there is provided an eccentric pivot. Lever I2 is lifted instead of rotated by reason of the fact that the right hand 'end (Fig. 3) of lever 12 bears on a cam surface which will be described hereinafter. When the lever 12 is lifted, the car 13 thereof engages and elevates the pin 14 (Fig. 6) which in turn lifts the collar 15 to move the sleeve 40 in an upward direction into engagement with the shoulder to support records in a manner previously described. During a normal record-change cycle operation, the lever 12 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about the high camsurface 18 to cause the sleeve 40 to be moved in a downward direction under the influence of spring "A to release the lowermost record in the stack.

When the control knob 6| is moved to the manual position,the shaft H is rotated in a clockwise direction and the low point cam surface I9 is positioned in a horizontal plane, whereupon the lever '12 is caused to drop to anon-operative position due to the elongated configuration of the aperture 11. As the lever 12 drops the spring A moves the sleeve 40 downwardly to its non-record supporting position. With the sleeve 40 in this position, the records on the turntable can be removed or the phonograph apparatus can .be played manually. This is true because, when the lever 12 is dropped, the pin 14 also drops, whereupon when the lever 12 is pivoted about the low cam surface 19, pin 14 does not move upwardly sufficiently to engage the collar 15 and actuate the sleeve 40.

When the .control mechanism is set to the .automatic position, and the tone arm is tracking a record, there is arranged a locking mechanism for preventing the records supported on the spindle 39 from dropping accidentallyon the tone arm should the operator through inadvertence move the control knob 6| to the manual position to remove the already played records. Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, there is shown formed on the arm 26 of the tone arm bell crank 24, an upturned ear 9 and on the arm-li4 of the bell crank 63 a cooperating downwardly extending ear [2. In operation, when the tone arm is tracking a record, the bell crank levers 24 and 63 assume the position shown in Fig. 5. It is seen that the con- 'trol knob 61 is locked against movement by the downwardly extending ear I2 engaging the inner wall of the upturned ear 9 on arm 26. However, when the tone arm is manually swung beyond the edge of the turntable, the ear 9 of the arm 26 is moved therewith in a counterclockwise direction out of the path of movement of theear 12 on the arm 64 whereupon the control knob Bl can be moved to the manual position to cause the sleeve 40 to assume its non-record supporting position.

For automatically swinging the tone arm out- Wardly from the turntable and automatically releasing records from the spindle 38, there is provided a change-cycle control mechanism (Fig. 5). The control mechanism comprises a unitary cam gear 8| which is adapted to mesh with and be driven by a drive means comprising pinion gear 82 formed in the lower end of the turntable shaft Ill. The unitary cam gear has breached portion 83 the function of which is to break the driving connection with the pinion gear 82 after one complete revolution of the cam gear. One complete revolution of the cam gear defines one complete record change-cycle operation.

Arranged on the upper surface of the cam gear 81 is a change-cycle initiating mechanism 84 operatively connected and responsive to the abnormal movement of the tone arm when it enters the tripping groove of a record. The mechanism 84 comprises a pawl member 85 pivotally mounted on cam gear 81 by the pin 81 and having a projection 89 which is adapted to engage the rotating pinion 82 under the biasing action of a leaf spring 90. When the projection 89 engages the pinion 82, the pawl 85 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction into engagement with the stop 88 whereupon the cam gear 86 is moved in a counterclockwise direction to mesh with the pinion 82 and be driven through one complete revolution coming to rest again at the breached portion 83. Cooperating with the pawl 85 is a tripping lever 9| pivoted on cam gear Gil by the pin 86, and having an extension 93 which is arranged to abut the outer extremity of a finger 94 on the pawl 85 and hold it against counterclockwise rotation. For limiting the movement of lever 9| there is provided a pin 95 in gear 89 which projects into slot 96 cut in lever 9 I.

For tripping the lever 9| there is pivotally mounted on a stud 91 secured to the base plate, a lever 98 having affixed at, one end thereof a downwardly extending pin 99 which is arranged to engage the tripping lever 9| as at I99 and pivot it in a clockwise direction whereby its extension 93 moves out of abutment with finger 94 of pawl 85 and releases the pawl 85 into engagement with the pinion 82. At the opposite end of the lever 98 there is provided a rectangular aperture |9| in which is disposed for movement the pin 21 connected to the tone arm bell crank 24. In operation, as the tone arm is normally tracking a record, the pin 21 moves therewith in a clockwise direction thereby engaging the wall portion A of the aperture I9I to pivot the lever 98 in a counterclockwise direction. The pin 99 on the lever 98 approaches the surface I99 of lever 9|. When the tone arm enters the tripping groove of the record, the pin 99 is moved an abnormal distance whereupon it engages the lever 9| as at I99 to pivot it and release the pawl 85 for engagement with the rotating pinion 82 to start the pawl 85 and pivots it in a clockwise direction until extension 93 and finger 94 abut one another as shown in Fig. whereupon the pawl 85 is reset for a repeating tripping operation.

For operating the tone arm raising and lowering mechanism and the record-holding and releasing means, there is provided (Figs. 4. and 8) a series of concentric cam surfaces I95, |96 and I91 mounted on the underside of the cam gear 8|. Cooperating with the cam I95, there is provided the tone arm lifting and lowering lever 39 having a toe portion I I9. The toe H9 normally engages the low portion III of cam surface I95.

Upon rotation of the cam gear, in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3), the high portion I I2 of cam I95 engages toe H9 and pivots the lever 39 in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) whereby adjustable screw 3| engages the tone armelevating pin 23 to lift the tone arm away from the record. When the low cam surface I II again engagesthe toe N9, the lever 39 is pivoted in a clockwise direction whereupon the tone arm is lowered onto the record on the turntable.

For operating the resilient, record-supporting means 5| so that the lowermost record in the stack can be released by the sleeve 49, there is connected to the lever 48 a roller I I5 which is arranged to track the cam surface I91. Normally the roller I I5 engages the low portion I99 of cam surface I91 and as the cam gear rotates in a clockwise direction, the high portion I98 of cam I91 engages and pivots the lever 48 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3) whereupon the control rod 46 connected thereto is urged downwardly thereby causing the collar 5| to expand and support all but the lowermost record in the stack above the turntable during the record change-cycle operaface |9'I engages the roller I I5 and the lever 18 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction "where upon the contraction of the collar 5| releases the supported records to be again supported bythe sleeve 49. The contraction of the collar 5| causes control rod 46 to assume its normal position as shown in Fig. 6.

While the records are being supported by the collar 5|, one end of the lever I2 is normally disposed 0n the high portion I I6 of cam surface I96. As the cam gear rotates in a clockwise direction, the low portion I I! of cam surface I96 causes the lever I2 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) about the high cam surface 18 on-the shaft II. When the lever I2 is pivoted, the sleeve 49 is caused to move downwardly by the biasing action of the spring "A. As a result, the lowermost record supported by the sleeve 49 is released to drop onto the turntable. When the high por- .tion III; of cam surface I96 again engages the lever I2, it is pivoted clockwise and the sleeve 49 is moved upwardly to support records during the normal reproduction cycle.

For swinging the tone arm away from the tumtable during a record changing cycle and returning it over the starting groove of a record for a reproduction cycle, there is formed on the upper surface of v the cam gear 89, a cam track I29 adapted to cooperate with the'lever 98. When the lever 98 has tripped the lever9I in a manner already described, to start the change-cycle operation, there is arranged on the cam track I29 a cam surface II8 which engages the pin 99 in lever 98 and causes the lever 98 to pivot ina clockwise direction (Fig. 5). As a result, the wall portion A in the aperture I9I on the opposite end of the lever 98 engages the pin 21 of the tone arm crank 24 to pivot it and the tone arm in a counterclockwise direction away from the turntable.

Formed on the cam track I29 is another cam surface I|9 which is so arranged to temporarily hold the tone arm away from the turntable during the record holding and releasing operation of the spindle 39. For returning the tone arm over the starting groove of a record, there is also arranged the cam surface ||9A which causes the lever 98 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction whereupon the wall B of the aperture I9I engages the pin 21 to swing the tone arm in a clockwise direction to return the tone arm over the starting groove of a large or, for example, a twelveinch record.

Associated with the tone arm lever 98 there is provided a mechanism for the returning of the tone arm over the starting groove of a small or, for example, a ten-inch record. This mechanism comprises a lever I39 pivoted about the stud 91 and slidably mounted on the lever 98 and movable therewith. The lever I39 is slidably affixed to the lever 98 by means of pin I3I fixed to lever 98. The elongated apertures I32 and I33 determine the lateral movement of the lever I39. At one end of the lever I39, there is arranged a projection I34 and an arm I35. The projection I34 is adapted upon movement of the lever I39 to the left to be positioned into the path of movement of the pin 21 to cause the tone arm to be moved a greater distance inwardly than previously when the wall 13 engaged the pin TI to position the tone arm over a twelve-inch record. Thus, the tone arm may be lowered to the playing groove of a small or ten-inch record.-

For positioning the projection I34 adjacent the pin 2! so that the tone arm will be lowered over a ten-inch record, there is provided a lever I59 (Fig. 5) pivoted at one end on a-pin I5I depending from the: base plate. The lever" I50 is biased toward the hub of the cam gear by a spring I53 secured to the base plate in any suitable fashion. Secured to the hub of the cam gear is a pin I54 which is arranged to engage a downturned ear I55 on the lever I50 and pivot it in a counterclockwise direction during each rotation of the cam gear. It is to be noted that pin I54 operates lever i 50 as the tone arm is moved outwardly and before a record is released. When the lever I50 is pivoted, a cam surface I56 formed at the free end of the lever I50 engages a down= turned ear II on the lever I30, and as a result the lever I30 is moved to the left to move the projection I34 into a position adjacent the pin 21, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. In operation, as the lever 98 starts to return the tone arm over the turntable, the projection I34 instead of the wall B engages the pin 21 andreturns the tone arm over the starting groove of ten-inch record. The lever I30 is moved to the left simultaneously with the raising of the tone arm.

For actuating the lever I30 so that the tone arm may be placed over the starting groove of a twelve-inch record by the lever 98, there is provided a substantially vertical spring biased indexing finger I40 pivoted as at MI in the standard I6 (Figs. 1 and 2). The upper end of the indexing finger I40 is adapted to be engaged by a falling twelve-inch record whereby to pivot the lower end I42 of arm I40 (Figs. 2 and 5) into engagement with the upturned ear I43 on arm I35 of the lever I30. The arm I35 is positioned in the path of movement of the lever I40 when the tone arm is being swung outwardly toward the edge of the turntable and before a record is released. When a twelve-inch record is released from the spindle 39, the lever I40 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) whereupon the lower end I42 thereof engages the ear I43 to move the lever I30 to the right (Fig. 5). The projection I34, connected to lever I30, is moved away from the path of movement of the pin 21 to allow the wall B of the aperture IOI to engage the pin 21 and return the tone arm over the starting groove of a twelve-inch record.

Reject means are provided for initiating a. change-cycle operation prior to the completion of the reproduction of a record. This means comprises a lever I60 (Fig. 5) pivoted intermediate its ends on a pin I6I depending from the base plate. At one end of the lever there is provided a downturned ear I62 which is adapted to engage an upturned ear I63 formed on the tripping lever 3|". The opposite end of the lever I60 is provided with a cam surface I64 (Fig. 4) which is arranged to be engaged by the lower end of a control rod I65 journaled in the sleeve 62 (Fig. 2). When the rod I65 is depressed, the lever I60is caused to be pivoted in a counterclockwise direction whereupon the ear I52 engages the lever 9| to pivot itout of tripping engagement with the pawl 85 to start a record change-cycle operation. A spring I66 connected between the lever I50 and the bracket 33 returns the lever to its normal position against the stop I61.

The operation of the record-changing apparatus will now be described; First, the control knob GI is moved to the automatic position on the scale 59-, whereupon the shaft II, operatively connected thereto by lever 61, is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3). As the shaft TI is rotated the high cam surface I8 thereof engages the fiatwall of theaperture TI to lift the lever 12. .As' the lever I2 is lifted, the ear I3 thereof (Fig.

6) engages" the pin I4 to move it upwardly to engage the collar :5 and. move the sleeve 40 in an upward direction against the biasing action of the spring 14A. As the sleeve 4c is moved upwardly, the tri-parted portion 42' thereof is caused to engage the shoulder 45 and hare outwardly to form a seat so that a stack of large small recoros 4 may be placed thereon. It is to be noted that a stack intermixed large and small rec' crds may be placed on the spindle.

A1 ter the stack of records is placed on the sleeve 40* the tone arm is positioned over the starting groove of a record on the turntable.

During the reproduction of the record the tone arm moves gradually inwardly, moving therewith the pin in a clockwise direction (Fig. 5) which in turn pivots the lever in a counterclockwise direction. Upon entering the tripping groove of the record, the tone arm is suddenly swung in= wardly whereupon the pin connected to the lever 98 engages the lever 9i as at its to pivot it in a clockwise direction. As the lever BI 18 pivoted, its extension 53 releases the pawl 65 from its tripping engagement therewith and under the biasing action of the spring to is caused to pivot in a counterclockwise direction whereby its projection 89 engages the continuously rotating pin ion 82. When the projection to engages the pin--' ion 62, the unitary cam gear 8! is moved in a counterclockwise direction to mesh with pinion 82 to start the change-cycle ope-ration.

As the cam gear rotates, the high portion I I2 of cam Hi5 (Fig. 23) engages the toe I'lil on the tone arm lifting and lowering lever 30 to pivot it in a counterclockwise direction whereupon the opposite end thereof engages and raises the pin 23 to lift the tone arm away irom the record.

As the tone arm is being raised, the pin I54 (Fig. 5) connected to the hub of the cam gear engages the downturned ear I55 on the lever I50 to pivot it in a counterclockwise direction. whereby its camsurface I56 engages the upturned ear I5I on the lever I30 and pushes it to the left so that its projection I34 will be positioned in the path of the pin 21' normally to return the tone arm over the starting groove of a ten-inch rec ord. During each change-cycle operation, the lever I50 is pivoted by the pin I54. However, lever I50 does not engage the lever I30 unless lever I30 is previously moved to its extreme right position by the actuation of the indexing finger I40 in response to the previously dropping of a twelve-inch record as will be explained subsequently.

With the raising of the tone arm, thehigh portion I68 of cam I01 engages the roller II5 on the lever 48 and pivots it in a clockwise direction (Figs. 3 and 4) whereupon the control rod 45, operatively connected thereto, is urged down Wardly thereby causing the resilient collar 5| to expand and support all but the lowermost record in the stack. The lowermost record is freely disposed about the shoulder 45and supported by the tri-parted portion 42 on the sleeve 40.

Continued rotation of the cam gear 0| causes the surface IIS of cam I20 to engage the pin 59 on the lever 98 to pivot it in a clockwise direction (Fig. 5) As the lever 08 is pivoted, the wall A ofthe aperture Iil I engages the pin 27 to swing the tone arm in a counterclockwise direction be-- yond the edge of the turntable.

While the records are being supported by the collar 5|, the cam surface I I9 of ca'm rza en gages the pin 99 to hold the tonearm beyond the edge of the turntable.

' Asthe tone arm is being held away from the turntable, the cam .gear continues to rotate whereby its low portion II! of cam I engages the lever I2 to pivot it in a counterclockwise direction (Figs. 3 and 4).. When the lever I2 is pivoted, the car 13 is lowered to actuate pin I4-and allow the sleeve 4a to move downwardly under the influence of the spring 14A. Since the lowermost record in the stack is freely disposed about the shoulder 45, the downward movement of the sleeve 50 causes the tri-parted sections 42 to leave the shoulder 45 and converge whereupon thelowermost record is allowed to fallonto the turntablewhile the remaining recordsin the stack are held by the collar Continued rotationv of the cam gear causes the high portion .I I0, of cam I05 to engage and pivotthe leverI2. in a clockwisedirection (Figs. 3 and 4) whereupon the ear I3 thereof actuates the pin 14 upwardly to engage the collar 55 and raise the upper portions 42 of the sleeve 40 into engagement with the shoulder 45. The triparted portions 42 are caused to expand again to form a seat for the stack of records held by the collar 5|, 2 Further rotation of the cam gear causes the portion USA of cam surface I20 to engage the pin 99 to pivot the lever 98 in a counterclockwise direction. As thelever 98 is pivoted, the projection I34 engages the pin 27! to swing the tone arm inwardly over the starting groove of a ten-inch record. When the tone arm is positioned over the record, the low portion III of cam I05 at this time engages the lever 30 to pivot it in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3) to lower the tonearm onto the record. I

With the lowering of the tone arm, the low portion I09 of cam IIlI engages the lever 48 to pivotit in a counterclockwise direction (Figs. 3 and 4) whereupon the rod 40 is released to move upwardly under the influence of the collar 5|. As the collar 5| contracts the records held thereby are released to rest on the tri-parted portion 42 of the sleeve 40. V

As the tone arm is being lowered, the cam surface ,9IA, on the lever 9I at this time engages the pinion 82 to pivot lever 9i in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 5). As the lever 9| is pivoted, the projection 93 thereof engages the finger 94 on the pawl 35 to pivot it in a clockwise direction and reset it for the next change-cycle operation.

After the pawl 85 is reset the cam gear continues to rotate until the breached portion 83 is opposite the pinion 82, whereupon the driving connection therewith is broken thereby completing the record change-cycle operation.

In the event that a twelve-inch record is dropped from the spindle 39, the record, in dropping, engages the lever I40 (Figs. 2 and 5) to pivot it in a counterclockwise direction whereupon the lower end I52 thereof engages the ear I43 on the arm I35 of lever I30 to move it to the right thereby moving the projection I34 out of the path of the pin 2I to allow the wall portion B of the aperture IOI to engage the pin 2'I and swing the tone arm over the starting groove of a twelve-inch record. This occurs after pin I54 has initiated the movement of lever I30 to the left (Fig. 5).

If it is desired to reject a record, the rod I05 is depressed. As the rod is depressed, the lower end thereof engages the cam surface I04 on the lever III] to pivot it in a counterclockwise direction. As the lever I00 is pivoted, the opposite 12 endjthereoi. engages the tripping lever ,9 I as at I63, thereby releasing the pawl .forqengagement with the continuousjrotating pinion 82'.

If it is desired toplay the phonograph ape paratus, manually, the control knob 6| is moved over the scale 59 to' the ,manual? position where upon the shaft II operatively connected thereto is rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3). When the shaft is rotated the low cam surface 19 thereof assumes a horizontal position whereupon the lever I2 is caused to drop to a non-operative position due to theflattened configuration of the aperture I1. lever I2 drops,-the springl IA moves the sleeve 40 downwardly thereby causing the tri-parted portion 42 to contract to .perrnit the placement and removal of recordson the turntable. When the lever I2 has dropped, the pin I4 drops away from the collar I5..connected to the sleeve .40 so..that the collar I5- cannot actuate the sleeve While there has been described what is at present considered the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims tocover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. a

What is. claimed is: r

1. An automatic phonograph comprising a turntable, atone arm pivoted adjacent said turntable for vertical and horizontal movement, a record centering spindle operatively associated with said turntable and comprising a record supporting portion spaced above said turntable for supporting a stack of records and a movable record releasing portion adjacentsaid record supporting portion, cam means for effecting a record changingcycle, a'linkage connecting said cam means and said record supporting portion for separating the lowermost supported record during a record changing cycle and supporting the remainder of the stack of records during a record changing cycle, a linkage connectingsaid cam means and said record releasing portion comprising a movable member, a lever operatively associated with said movable member and said cam means for releasing said lowermost record after it is separated from said stack of records, a pivot shaft arranged to provide an eccentric pivot point for said lever and manually operable mechanism operatively associated with said pivot shaft for rotating said pivot shaft for lowering said lever whereby said lever may be disconnected from said movable member and said cam means for permitting manual operation of the phonograph.

2. An automatic phonograph comprising a turntable, a tone arm pivoted adjacent said turnsaid cam means and said record releasing portion.

When the comprising a vertically movable member, a lever operatively associated with said vertically movable member and said cam means for releasing said lowermost record after it is separated from said stack of records, said lever having an. aperture with a flattened wall, a pivot shaft extending through said aperture and having a flattened portion normally disposed adjacent the flattened wall of said aperture and manually operable mechanism operatively associated with said pivot shaft for rotating said pivot shaft for changing the point of engagement between the flattened portion of said shaft and the flattened wall of said aperture and lowering said lever whereby said lever may be disconnected from said vertically movable member and said cam means for permitting manual operation of the phonograph.

An "automatic phonograph comprising a turntable, a tone arm pivoted adjacent said turntable for vertical and horizontal movement, a record centering spindle operatively associated with said turntable and comprising an enlargeable record supporting portion spaced above said turntable for supporting a stack of records and a vertically movable record releasing portion adjacent said enlargeable portion, cam means for effecting a record changing cycle, a linkage connecting said cam means and said record supporting portion for separating the lowermost supported record during a record changing cycle and supporting the remainder of the stack of records during a record changing cycle, a linkage connecting said cam means and said record releasing portion comprising a vertically movable memher, a. lever operatively associated with said vertically movable member and said cam means for 14 releasing said lowermost record after it is separated from said stack of records, said lever having a substantially circular aperture with a fiattened wall, a pivot shaft extending through said circular aperture and having a flattened portion normally disposed adjacent the flattened wall of said aperture and manually operable mechanism connected to said pivot shaft for rotating said pivot shaft for changing the point of engagement between the flattened portion of said shaft and the flattened wall of said aperture and lowering said lever whereby said lever may be disconnected from said vertically movable member and said cam means for permitting manual operation of the phonograph.

ARLINGTON VICTOR LAPISH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,017,898 Gates Oct. 22, 1935 2,230,106 Erwood Jan. 28, 1941 2,237,340 Downs Apr. 8, 1941 2,287,098 Habegger June 23, 1942 2,339,981 Cranmer et a1. Jan. 25, 1944 2,368,086 Becwar Jan. 30, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number (Tountry Date 55,603 Netherlands Oct. 16, 1943 62,822 Denmark Oct. 23, 1944 67,631 Norway Mar. 27, 1944 822,026 France Sept. 6, 1937 

